Jeff Dunn, corporate recruiter and former president of Sacramento Area Human Resources Association, told KCRA 3 that reducing flexibility may hurt the companies in the long run.

“There’s a talent shortage, and they’re competing for that talent. They’re going to miss out on employees. If the money’s equal, employees are going to want a place where they have flexibility to work from home or work flexible hours,” Dunn said.

Best Buy and Yahoo have said they’re making the move to improve communication and collaboration.

Dr. Hakan Ozcelik, an associate professor of the College of Business Administration at California State University in Sacramento, said workers perform best when they feel connected.

Ozcelik said companies should embrace telecommuting for the advantages it offers, but should provide that option only after employees feel socially connected to colleagues.

He added that requiring workers to be at the office doesn’t necessarily guarantee they’ll be more productive, if they still feel isolated.

Dunn said surveys have consistently shown that employees like the flexibility that telecommuting offers, and taking that away can damage morale.

“What it comes down to is: Do you trust the employee to get the work done? Can you measure their productivity? Or are you losing something by not having as much face time as you had before?” Dunn said.

The current trend is to offer employees more flexibility, Dunn said, adding that smaller companies likely will not end their telecommuting options.